HMS Hermione was an Astraea-class

Astraea class cruiser

The Astraea class was an eight ship class of protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the 1890s. The ships served on a number of foreign stations during their careers, particularly in the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and around the Cape of Good Hope...

 protected cruiser launched at Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 in 1893. She served in World War I and was sold in 1921. She was renamed HMS Warspite in 1922, and broken up in 1940.

In 1896 the Hermione, commanded by Captain Charles R. Arbuthnot

Charles Ramsay Arbuthnot

Charles Ramsay Arbuthnot was a British Admiral in the Royal Navy.Born in Liverpool in England, he was son of George Clerk Arbuthnot and Caroline Ramsay Hay, and grandson of Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet. His first post was aboard HMS Britannia. Later he served aboard the Arctic yacht...

, was one of a squadron of six ships which was specially commissioned in reply to a congratulatory telegram

Kruger telegram

The Kruger telegram was a message sent by Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II to Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, president of the Transvaal Republic, on 3 January 1896. The Kaiser congratulated the president on repelling the Jameson Raid, a sortie by 600 British irregulars from Cape Colony into the...

 from the German Emperor

William II, German Emperor

Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...

 to President Paul Kruger

Paul Kruger

Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...

 on the repulse of Dr. Jameson's Raid

Jameson Raid

The Jameson Raid was a botched raid on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic carried out by a British colonial statesman Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen over the New Year weekend of 1895–96...

. The squadron, known as the Particular Service Squadron, was commanded by Rear-Admiral Alfred Taylor Dale

Alfred Taylor Dale

Admiral Alfred Taylor Dale was a British Royal Navy admiral.He joined the Royal Navy in 1854. Promoted to Lieutenant on 14 April 1860, Commander on 4 April 1870, Captain on 31 December 1876, Rear-Admiral on 10 September 1891, Vice-Admiral on 16 September 1897, and Admiral on 3 May 1903.In April...

 with his flag in Revenge

HMS Revenge (1892)

HMS Revenge was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Sovereign class of the British Royal Navy. She was renamed HMS Redoubtable in 1915. HMS Revenge notably served as the flagship of the Flying Squadron and bombarding the coast of Flanders during World War I before being refitted as an...

.

In September 1910 she began preparations for use as a tender for the Royal Navy's first airship, but when this project was abandoned, she rejoined the Home Fleet in January 1912. In the meantime, she had hosted the first British seaplane experiments, with an Avro Type D

Avro Type D

-References:* Lewis, P British Aircraft 1809-1914. London, Putnam, 1962* Jackson, A.J. Avro Aircraft Since 1908. London, Putnam, 1965...

in November 1911.